


Matchmaker Matched

by delovelieink



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, Modern Retelling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-20
Updated: 2016-01-20
Packaged: 2018-05-15 03:14:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,780
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5769205
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/delovelieink/pseuds/delovelieink
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ellie "Tink" Tinker is a popular city girl with secret talent: she can sense what people need. That little talent makes her an expert matchmaker. But when Tink meets Regina she finds her intuitive compass is stumped.</p><p>Modern AU. Includes Red Wolf (Ruby/Belle) and Astrid/Leroy.</p><p>Made as a tumblr OUAT Secret Santa gift to sapphicwiitch (rginaswan).</p>
            </blockquote>





	Matchmaker Matched

Tink popped up on her toes to knock on the door. “I brought your dress!” she called into the crack in the frame, bright and chipper as always.

She was greeted by Ruby’s smiling face and a hug a moment later. The garment bag and the dress inside got squeezed between them. That was the best thing about Ruby: her bear hugs.

Ruby ushered her inside the two-bedroom apartment. “Come in, I was just making tea,” she whispered. Tink followed her through the short hallway to the kitchen where she was met by the bewildered stare of a young woman with long black hair, brown eyes, and a warm complexion. Her glossy lips parted in surprise.

“Oh! I’m sorry. Tink, this is Regina, my new flatmate I was telling you about.” Ruby was such a natural actress, sounding like this meeting was complete coincidence. It was anything but. Borrowing the dress was just an excuse Ruby had come up with to put Tink and Regina in the same room. Tink was actually here to convince Ruby’s new melancholic flatmate to go out with them tonight. Ruby said she was sure a night out would do her good, but Regina was too stubborn to listen to her. She begged Tink to work her magic. Tink could practically hear Ruby making pleading puppydog eyes over the phone.

Regina struck Tink as very birdlike. She had the exact tense look of a blackbird at a café patio caught between deciding whether or not to fly away when a stranger approaches. Her dark hair was expertly styled in layered waves that fell around her shoulders. She wore a beautiful white blouse with slightly puffy sleeves.

Ruby continued, “Regina’s new to the city. She’s been rooming with me since her divorce was finalized. Regina, my friend Tink.”

The blackbird had decided to stay and nibble a crumb. She relaxed slightly. “Tink?” she questioned. “Interesting name.”

“Ellie Tinker. Friends call me Tink,” she filled in and pulled up a chair. “Ruby’s told me a lot about you.”

“Oh has she?” There was an edge of playful sarcasm in her voice.

“Yeah, she told me you grew up in the Hamptons and you really showed that ex of yours in court.”

“She told me you got kicked out of Catholic School.”

Oh, so she wanted to play ball? “Yeah, I broke into Mother Superior’s office and stole something. It was on a dare.”

“That and then some,” Ruby chimed in.

“Never did like Catholic School much. Or Mother Superior either. Such an uptight, shady woman.”

Regina smiled. For whatever reason, she seemed to like that. Her face had softened. It looked very pretty. Youthful. Tink was stuck by just how young she was to have been married _and_ divorced already. She couldn’t but much older than Tink was at 24. She didn’t look like a bird anymore. All the tenseness and flightiness were gone. She sat poised in the chair. There was something very noble about her. Regal, even.

The whistling tea kettle interrupted the moment.

Tink picked up the conversation again with some small talk about how Regina was adjusting to the city. It must be quite a change from what she was used to. Regina agreed it was, but she wasn’t too perturbed by it. It was easier to adjust than you’d expect, she said.

Then Tink went ahead and asked, “So, do you have any plan for tonight? Ruby and I are doing a girls’ night if you’d like to come.”

Regina’s doe-back brown eyes dropped to her mug of tea. “I don’t think so,” she said.

“Why not?”

Regina gave a wan smile. She stirred her tea. “I don’t want to get in the way.”

“That’s nonsense.”

Stir, stir. The spoon hit the side of the mug each round. “You’ll have more fun without me.”

“Come on, Regina. Have you even gone out since you moved here?”

What she really meant was _since you finalized the divorce?_

Regina stopped stirring. She heard it lough and clear. Her brown eyes met Tink’s, and for just a second she looked so vulnerable. Open, unsure, wanting something but too afraid to ask for it.

So Tink spoke for her. “Well, I think it’s high time you did. You can’t let this keep you down forever.” She winked. “I have a secret: I know what people need. You need to get back out there. Drinks, friends, food, girl talk, what could be better? I promise this city is friendlier than it looks.”

Regina looked down and cupped her hands around her mug shyly. She scrunched her lip, considering it.

Finally she said, “I don’t have any nice clothes.”

Tink grinned impishly. “I’m sure we can put something together.”

~

Six minutes later Regina was sitting on her bed watching the petite blonde with ringlets go through her closet.

“All you need is faith and trust…”

“If you say ‘pixie dust,’ I’m out of here,” Regina warned. She was starting to second guess her decision to go. Tink must’ve been a cheerleader in one life, she was so perky. She’d even plugged in her iPod and turned up a mix of Broadway showtunes and was humming along. Right now “Popular” from Wicked was playing. Regina could help but feel like she was Elphaba and Tink was Glinda. Well, she didn’t need or want to be made popular. At least her face wasn’t green. Yet.

“I was going to say ‘and some nude heels with this’ but that works too,” Tink said, brandishing one of her more ornate backless midnight blue gowns with Swarovski crystals trailing down the deep cutout.

“Not that one,” Regina said adamantly.

“Why not? I would kill for a dress like this.” She hugged the gown to her chest and admired her reflection. She was so short that over a foot of fabric pooled on the ground around her feet

“It reminds me of him,” Regina said.

“Oh.” Tink pulled the gown away from her body.

Regina flared at the thought of wearing anything Leo had ever seen her in, ever touched her in. She could still smell him on the clothes, though she’d dry cleaned them all and she knew it was impossible that he was still there. Just her raw emotions, the smarting edges of a healing wound.

Regina rubbed the bare skin on her finger where her wedding ring used to sit like a noose. She was still bruised from Leo and his machinations over her, and from the drawn-out and difficult divorce process itself. That man was a disease underneath that sweet face and kind demeanor. She hated him, and the bent-up creature that he’d made out of her.

Still, a girls night out might be just the thing she needed to get her mind off him. As her divorce lawyer Mal had reminded her, he had no control over her anymore. She felt like exercising that freedom. Plus, Regina liked this girl Tink. She couldn’t say why exactly, she just felt comfortable and soothed in her presence. That was a rare commodity these days. With most people, she wanted them to back off. But she sensed Tink was genuine.

“You have so many cute blouses and blazers,” Tink said, back to skimming her closet. “Are you in business?”

“Not exactly.”

“Well, this wardrobe to be says ‘upward career trajectory,’ with style.”

Regina laughed. “That’s the hope.”

Tink must have noticed that many of the business clothes were new, a few with the tag still attached. “So, new phase, new place, new clothes,” she said.

“Exactly.”

Tink cocked her chin upward and crinkled the left corner of her lip in an impish half-smirk, getting an idea. “Well,” she said, combing through the hangers again with new purpose. She pulled out a scarlet sleeveless blouse that tied at the neck, one of Regina’s recent purchases. “ _This_ could be a perfect day-to-night top, just put some leather leggings and black heels with it. You will look fierce.”

Regina took the top and smiled at Tink as though they were co-conspirators in a scheme. “Perfect.”

~

Tink had known Regina would look hot in the outfit, but she was still taken aback when she arrived with Ruby at the restaurant. She smoldered those skin-tight, vinyl-smooth leggings and the pointy stilettos. She’d done her makeup to precise perfection. Kohl eyeliner and cherry-stained lips. She was stunning.

“I told you you’d look amazing! I’m so glad to see you,” Tink said as she squeezed her shoulder in greeting. Regina smiled and gave a small thank you, as though she wasn’t quite sure.

Regina took a seat shyly at the end of the table, next to Ruby. Again she had that skittish birdlike look, although she was now splendid as a starling. Tink took the spot directly across from her and introduced her to her friends at the table. She wanted to make sure Regina felt included. Once Regina got a feel for how friendly everyone was, she relaxed visibly.

As soon as she found out that Astrid was an old friend from Tink’s from Catholic school, she immediately started peppering her with questions.

“So what did your friend Shirley Temple there get up to that got her so much trouble with the nuns?”

Astrid laughed. Tink nearly choked on her water.

“God, I’m going to need an actual drink for this,” Tink groaned.

“Aren’t you not supposed to take the Lord’s name in vain?” Regina teased, her tone sardonic.

“Jesus, Mary, and Joseph,” Tink swore. Astrid was tearing up from laughter.

Regina quirked her eyebrows. “I don’t think that’s much better.”

“ _Two_ drinks.” Tink pretended to hail a waiter.

Astrid finally composed herself, wiping her eyes on the cloth napkin. “Goodness. Tink was a riot. She was always making everyone laugh. And then she was always pushing dress code boundaries, sneaking out of her room at night, climbing the rooftops, picking locks to find a way into the belltower…”

“Oh come one, you _begged_ me to take you along to climb the belltower, and if it wasn’t for your clumsiness we never would’ve been caught,” Tink said.

“It’s true, I am really clumsy,” Astrid admitted. “But it was really exciting, even if Mother Superior gave us the scariest lecture afterward.”

Regina was laughing. Her laugh had a nice throaty sound. Her brown eyes sparkled in the golden light of the restaurant. Tink was glad Regina and Astrid were getting along, even if she was finding out all about her Catholic school misdemeanors. It was true, though—Tink had always had an adventurous and daring streak. She was feisty and loved a challenge, and that got her in trouble in Mother Superior’s world of rules, regulations, and neat but itchy blue sweaters and plaid skirts. Tink liked to put colored streaks in her hair, not just to be defiant for defiance’s sake but because she was restless and curious to know what it would feel like. But she had always been charismatic, making friends with the other girls easily. She could sense instinctively what people needed—when they needed to go out, when they needed someone to stay and listen. She could tell which girls would make best friends and introduced them to each other, and she was usually on point. Later, she was matching couples. That was her little gift.

 ~

After dinner, the group headed to the bar. Regina seemed to be more relaxed now, mixing with the group rather than hanging around the fringes, chatting animatedly with Ruby, Astrid, and Aurora. The evening was going perfectly, Tink thought. There was just one person missing from the gathering now, and she should be… ah, there. Right on cue.

Tink leaned over to Ruby and said in an undertone, “Someone I want to introduce you to. Cutie in the blue with the gorgeous accent.” Then Tink waved the girl over to their table calling out, “Hey, Belle, over here!”

Tink had been waiting for a chance to get them to meet. Belle was a graduate student of literature at the university, and so did not often have time to go out. She looked quite beautiful with her rich brunette hair tied halfway back, gold flats, and a cute sapphire tunic that brought out her eyes. “Thanks for the invite, Tink. Sorry I couldn’t make dinner.”

“All good,” Tink said. “Meet my friends Ruby and Regina.”

They exchanged greetings.

“Now, Belle, you told me you grew up in… Sydney, or was it Melbourne, I forget?”

“It’s okay. Melbourne.”

“Oh, wow, that’s awesome. I’ve always wanted to visit,” Ruby enthused.

“It’s quite wonderful.”

Tink butted in. “Hey, Ruby, you haven’t even had anything to drink yet. Can I get you something?”

“Martini, dry,” Ruby said.

“Same,” Belle said.

Tink went to the bar to get everyone’s drinks. When she came back with the martinis, Ruby and Belle were deep in a conversation about koalas and other wildlife. Belle reached for her wallet, but Tink stopped her. “On me. You deserve a treat.”

When she sat down again Astrid leaned over and said, “You’re at it again.”

Tink feigned innocence. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Sure you don’t,” Astrid said. Tink had introduced her to her steady boyfriend Leroy. They also appeared to be an odd match on the outside, but Tink could recognize how their personalities clicked and attracted. They were going strong for over a year now.

 ~

Later, Ruby and Belle were hitting it off nicely and the rest of the girls were working their way through cocktails. Regina was talking fondly about her divorce lawyer, Mal, who sounded like an absolute badass. “I would not have gotten out of that marriage if it wasn’t for her,” Regina said.

“You’re lucky. Is there anyone in your life now?” Astrid asked.

“Not really,” Regina said.

“Well that’s a darn shame!” Astrid said, her voice a little too enthusiastic.

Astrid was a sweetheart, but she was a terrible lightweight and Tink could tell she was getting really tipsy. She stepped in to try redirecting the conversation. “Maybe she’d rather talk about something else.”

Regina brushed her off. “It’s fine. I had love once. Not with my ex, he was a terrible mistake. Real love, the kind that sweeps you up and never lets you go. Real love that makes you brave. That ache in your chest you feel, like you have too much emotion and passion to hold in just one body… I would like to have that again.”

For whatever reason, she didn’t look at Astrid when she said that. Her eyes were tethered to Tink. Her gaze was so powerful like gravity that Tink felt a little uncomfortable meeting it, but she couldn’t look away.

Astrid interrupted. “Oh, you know, Tink’s an expert matchmaker. She has a real gift. Tink, you should set Regina up!”

Tink smiled nervously. “Astrid, it doesn’t work like that…”

But Astrid was insistent. “Come on Tink, I have faith in you. Your intuition is magic. Just look at Ruby and Belle right now. And Regina hasn’t had anybody caring about her in ages.”

Regina was looking at Tink, but it was a look Tink couldn’t decipher. It was almost pleading, but was she asking her to do it or not?

Astrid did have a point. And Ruby did say Regina needed a pick-me-up. Sure, she had just met Regina, but Tink could tell she had a big heart to offer.

Tink scanned the room. How could she set Regina up on the spot like this? She never planned these matches, they just hit her like a sudden burst of inspiration. Fine. She’d stop thinking and give in to blind instinct, letting it point her like a weather vane.

There. The first person she settled on. A man at the bar. She’d met him once somewhere at a holiday party or something. What was his name again? Robert?

She said, “See that man at the bar? The one with the lion tattoo on his wrist? I know him. He’d be a wonderful date.”

Regina craned her neck. Astrid whipped around excitedly to see for herself and knocked her drink over. Brown liquid flew out and splashed squarely on the front of Tink’s dress.

Tink gasped in surprise as the cold hit her, jumping out of her chair. Regina moved before Tink even finished processing what happened. She was at Tink’s side in an instant, pressing a napkin to her chest to clean up the mess and telling her to hold still.

Something fluttered in Tink’s ribcage, but then the clamor began and it vanished.

“Oh god, I’m so sorry!”

“We need napkins for the table.”

“You alright?”

“I should take this to the bartender.”

“I’m fine, it’s just a spilled drink, sheesh,” Tink said.

Regina however, was completely collected and no-nonsense. She instructed her to go to the ladies room and run the stain under cold water.

Tink slipped away to the bathroom and surveyed the damage. She found she still had the napkin pressed over the stain. Moreover, it was not a napkin at all but a cloth handkerchief. Tink looked at it more closely. It had a faint glossy pattern of coiling leaves and vines and the initials “R.M.” embroidered in curling letters in the corner. It was very pretty. Tink wondered briefly what the “M” stood for, and whether it was Regina’s maiden name or married name, and which one she had now.

Just then a group of drunk girls stumbled into the bathroom. Tink shoved the handkerchief into the safety of her purse and began ladling handfuls of cold water on her dress and scrubbing the fabric with dispenser soap.

When she got it as well as she could, she went back out to her table. Astrid had a new drink in front of her and was chatting with Ruby, Aurora, and Belle as if nothing had happened. Regina was disengaged though, looking off to the side.

Tink sat down. “Thank you,” she said to Regina.

Regina didn’t answer or look at her. She looked distant, looking at the room but not really seeing it. Tink took a few more sips of her Manhattan. Then without warning Regina said, “Do you believe in curses, Tink?”

“What?”

“It’s like I’ve been here before, I could swear it. In another life. Like I keep stupidly making the same mistakes over and over, like I’m cursed to repeat them.”

She finally looked at Tink. Her eyes looked black and hard in the dim light. She looked like a different person, familiar yet unfamiliar.

“I don’t know if that means you’re cursed.”

“I fell in love when I was very young to a working class boy my mother didn’t approve of. Actually she despised him, but I dated him in secret anyway. Then I lost him. I didn’t want to marry Leo when he proposed but somehow my mother talked me into it. I should’ve known it was _her_ choice, not mine, but I was still too heartbroken over Daniel to see clearly. Leo was well-heeled, rich, had the nicest mansion. He kept me, he dressed me, he showed me off. But he never _loved_ me. I felt like a prisoner in his house…” she trailed off. Tink didn’t understand why she was telling her all this now. She reached over and covered Regina’s hands with her own.

“It took me so damn _long_ to leave him, and thank god for Mal or I’d still be there, trying to convince myself I wasn’t crazy for hating him when everyone else adored him.”

“You’re not crazy Regina.”

Regina smiled bitterly, looking at their hands and back at her. “Do you think this is another mistake?”

The man with the lion tattoo ( _Robin_ , Tink remembered his name) was still drinking at the bar and chatting with the bartender. Truth be told, she was starting to feel a little light from the alcohol. Robin was a decent guy, from what she remembered. She had no idea why she wanted this so badly for her new friend. She just did.

“I think you should go out there and talk to him. Leo is gone now. This could be your fresh start.” Tink squeezed her hands as a final encouragement. “Go!”

And Regina did.

~

Regina made small, careful, mouselike steps, each taking her inevitably closer to the man with the lion tattoo. He wore a loose flannel with the sleeves rolled up to show muscled arms. He had a mostly-full glass of beer in front of him with pearly foam on top. Regina couldn’t see his face yet, only the back of his head.

Then a thought struck her, making her stop dead: The moment she saw his face, the second she learned his name, everything was going to change, and she would be powerless to stop it. Her life would be divided into a _before_ and an _after_ this moment—like a before and after Daniel died, before and after Leo proposed. How she knew this, she had no idea, but it was as certain as the floor was solid beneath her.

The air in the bar was suddenly stifling and all the conversation around her too loud. She was frozen in place. Then suddenly the man shifted as though he was about to turn around. Regina bolted.

She didn’t realize she was running until she was past the bouncer who was dressed like a hipster, out the door, down the stairs, on the street. Her insides felt like ice and her heart pounded. She closed her eyes and held her temples.

“Regina!” It was Tink, heels clip-clipping after her. “What happened?”

“ _What happened_?” Regina echoed. “What happened is you tried to set me up with some random stranger at the bar just to prove to your friend you could and I was about to fall for it.”

“Regina, that’s not what… I want to help you.”

Regina didn’t know where this anger was coming from, but she couldn’t stop it. “Did you think I was stupid? The last time someone tried to _help_ me or fix me I ended up trapped in a shitty marriage having to pretend everything was fine when it never was. You don’t know me, you only know what you want me to be! And to you it’ll never be enough! It’s never enough! You have no right to decide my destiny!”

Now it was Tink’s turn to raise her voice. “I’m not trying to control you! Or put you in a ‘shitty marriage.’ Look, I’m sorry your ex was an ass but that’s not my fault, or Astrid’s, or Ruby’s. But you won’t even try to move on. You’d rather just sit in Ruby’s apartment moping and ignoring people. And you know what I think? I think you channeling your anger and hurt on us instead of the ones who really deserve it.”

With that, Regina’s anger turned from red hot to ice cold. She raised her head proudly. She’d sworn to herself that she was done letting people push her around. She was done being weak. She was going to start pushing back.

“I don’t ignore people. I just ignore people like you. Perfect, popular, empty people. Just fly away, Miss Tinker. Fly away like a moth to its pretty little light and leave me alone.” With that she sauntered off.

~

Regina was up early the next day. Before sunrise. Ruby’s door was closed. She didn’t really care if she was home or not. She left some money on the counter with a terse note: “For my tab last night.”

She went to one of her favorite trails on the wooded corridor cutting through the city. She zipped up her track suit, plugged in an iPod, and took off into the morning. Taylor Swift’s “Bad Blood” was up first, and after that came “Cell Block Tango” from Chicago _._ Regina felt her feet make contact with the ground, pounding on it like an angry heartbeat. The cold air only made her feel more alive.

To think she’d found that blonde pixie cute. She was disgusted with herself. But the worst thing of all was hope. That’s what hurt the most of all. Regina had let her guard down and allowed herself to believe for a moment that she could escape the pain of her past and find a place she belonged, only to have it all ripped from her again.

After she had clocked three miles and her hair was escaping its ponytail and plastering to her temples, she wound down with stretches and drove to the place where she felt she’d find her center again. The law school where she wanted to apply.

She walked along the campus passing bleary-eyed college students rushing to class. The law school building was the nicest one on the university campus. Six stories tall, a shining example of modern architecture and design in metal and glass. Morning sunlight filtered into the open lobby area that had honey-colored wood panel walls and lots of faux-leather chairs. Contemporary sconce-like light fixtures drooped from the high ceiling. Staircases ascended to the upper floors. There was a mock courtroom behind a door on one side and a library in the other wing.

Regina sat down in the sleek café adjoining the lobby. She sipped her latte and watched students and professors grabbing breakfast. The students dressed well, as though already halfway to being professionals. She tried to imagine herself among them. Mal had inspired her. She had never seen someone so strong in her own convictions and so capable of defending them. No one would ever think her weak or vulnerable. There was a lot Regina could do with a law degree. If only she could prove to the admissions officers that a former trophy wife, broken and rusting as she was, was worthy of a place.

~

When Tink first returned to the bar after Regina had left her standing on the curb, she’d felt like she’d been shoved off a ledge. She swore she hated Regina with ever fiber in her body. How could she? How _dare_ she treat her like that when she’d tried all day long to make her feel cared about? Tink had gone straight to the bar and ordered whiskey shots, taking them in a line. She insisted to Astrid that she felt perfectly fine and nothing was bothering her now, certainly not _Regina._

The next morning she had an awful headache and blamed Regina. When she found the handkerchief still in her purse, she balled it up and threw it in a corner. She was low-grade stewing the rest of the day.

She stopped by the diner later. Ruby was working and the first thing out of her mouth when she came to her table was “Why didn’t you go after her?”

“What?”

“Regina. Why on earth didn’t you go after her?” Ruby’s face was hard. Her thick eyeliner seemed sharper than usual.

“Did you miss it or something? I did go, and she told me off and walked away.”

“That’s what I meant. When she walked away was when you should’ve gone after her.”

Tink groaned. “I can’t believe you’re taking her side.”

“And I can’t believe you tried to set her up with a guy. Come on, Tink. She’s just been through a divorce for god’s sake. She needed someone to bitch with her about men and bad relationships. She needed a friend, not a matchmaker.”

“Well, she made it pretty clear she doesn’t want to be friends with me.”

Ruby rolled her eyes. “For someone who can be so good at reading people, you sure have trouble seeing what was right in front of you.”

“Can I just get my usual, without a side of lecture?”

“She was looking at you the whole night. She was pretty hurt, and that’s putting it mildly.” She wrote down the order with more force than necessary. “Think on that.”

~

Winter break for students began. Regina’s handkerchief turned up in the wash. By then the stain had set in and no amount of scrubbing would get it out. Tink caught glimpses of Regina around town, running errands. She could never muster the courage to talk to her. Regina never noticed her, or pretended not to. So Tink put her nose higher in the air and kept walking, telling herself Regina was just a big snob, and she didn’t want to associate with her anyway. The handkerchief burned like a guilt-carved hole in her purse. She carried it at all times now.

Christmas came and went. Astrid and Leroy hosted a holiday dinner at their new place, and as Tink knew, it was probably unwise to let Astrid host anything. She mistimed the preparation of the dishes so everything was late. She wove her way through the guests, tilting and nearly dropping trays of snacks and drinks. Leroy trailed close behind her dusted with flour from the kitchen, two arms extended ready to brace her or the glasses before they toppled. He looked like a mother hen. They made quite a comical pair. When Astrid turned around, she found herself bumping into him, giggling, and planting a kiss on his forehead.

Tink saw their tender moments and felt wistful. Longing ate at her chest. She wasn’t jealous of them; in fact she thought they were precious. But she did find herself asking why she didn’t have that with somebody. How did Regina describe it? Having so much feeling for someone it was too much to contain in one body. Or something like that. She was always making the matches, never finding one for herself. It was like wishing that something she never had would come back to her.

~

Everything had to come to a head at some point.

Regina had thrown herself into studying for the LSAT with a singular, intense, and furious focus. She would _prove_ to them she was worthy. She would prove Leo and her mother wrong—she _could_ make something of herself now that she’d walked away. Ruby was mildly concerned, but at least her roommate had something to keep her occupied. But the tension in Regina’s head was only building slowly. It was nearly the new year and she was restless. All the “year in review” stories on the television made her think about how much her life had been uprooted in the past year.

She was caught off guard when she got a call on her cell and her mother’s name showed up on the screen. She froze, nearly answered, then recoiled away from it. Mother had said Regina would have to come crawling back to her before she spoke to her again. What would her mother think of her now: unemployed, sharing an apartment, and applying for work at Macy’s? She would pick her apart.

The phone rang and rang and she watched it warily, as though the device might pounce on her. Finally, the rings ceased mid-tone and Cora’s name disappeared. Regina found herself releasing a breath she didn’t know she was holding. She was in a cold sweat. What did she want with her? Why now? Was it something to do with Leo? Or was Leo trying to call her through her mother’s phone?

If Ruby was home, Regina would’ve talked to her, but she was gone and Regina suddenly didn’t want to be alone in the apartment. So she took her keys.

She drove straight to the barn where she paid David Nolan for occasional riding privileges. She needed a good, hard ride in the winter air to dispel some of her churning emotions. Needed to feel her blood pumping furiously in her veins.

She took one of her favorite horses: A young chestnut gelding named Copper who reminded her of her own childhood horse Rocinante. Mother had kept Rocinante and wouldn’t let Regina see him out of spite after Regina filed for divorce. Cora had disinherited Regina, cutting her off from trust funds and the family fortune, effectively shuttering her from the upper-class world she’d grown up in. That wasn’t the saddest thing about the whole affair, though. It was losing her mother’s love, conditional as it had always been.

Or perhaps it was waking up and realizing she’d never had it at all.

Regina warmed Copper up in the ring. His breath came out in puffs of rapidly-vanishing mist. She nudged him faster, feeling the rhythm of his canter and the reins taut in her gloved hands connecting to his mouth. It wasn’t enough. She needed more to soothe the ache in her chest leftover from Leo and her mother. And Tink.

She signaled David that she was taking Copper out to the meadows behind the property. Once far enough away, she nudged Copper into a gallop, gave him his head, and rose to a half-seat. Copper seemed to pick up her restlessness. He lengthened his strides, eating the ground beneath him. His hooves pounded relentlessly. Regina let herself get lost in it. Her heart rate sped up. The air whooshed in her ears. She felt free.

Her troubling thoughts couldn’t keep up. They slipped through her mind like water through an open hand. She laughed. Such freedom. This is what she missed in those years of marriage. Leo never let her ride his horses, though they were beautiful Hanoverians and she would’ve loved the chance.

She had to admit it though. She missed love. She craved it. Not Leo’s perverted lust and control which never could’ve been love. She missed the real thing.

Eventually, she knew she’d gone far enough and reined Copper in. She could only run so far. She had to go back and face the troubling realities of her life. Just like in her childhood, riding was an escape, delicious while it lasted. But she’d have to put Rocinante back in his stall eventually and return to the house.

She hated to admit it, but Tink had been right. Completely right. The words she’d spat outside the bar shouldn’t have been directed at her. They were all the words she wanted to say to her mother, but never could. She was still too wary, too ready to defend herself by lashing out rather than let someone in.

~

That night Tink was getting ready for the New Year’s Eve party. She had on her favorite mix of showtunes while she considered her options. Black minidress? No, too dark. Her signature green shift? No, something else.

Then shuffle put out “Popular” from Wicked, and Tink remembered Regina. Her gorgeous, husky laugh and her playful eyes. Regina had opened up to Tink more and more as the night went on, until Tink had pushed her and then her walls had shot right back up. Tink still wasn’t ready to give up on her intuition. She _had_ sensed Regina needed love, but she couldn’t reconcile that with what happened or what Ruby said. Still, pushing her hadn’t been the best idea.

Then she decided on an outfit: a sequined, pink champagne colored dress that caught light from all angles. Something that made her think _Glinda._ Popular, beloved Glinda missing her unconventional friend, the one that she’d never expected to find.

 ~

Tink was having a good time mingling when Regina showed up at the lounge and shrugged off her coat. They locked eyes immediately, then both shyly looked away.

Regina looked stunning in a skintight, longsleeve, dark blue dress that gathered in all the right places to accentuate her curves. Though she’d avoided her before, Tink got up from her spot this time and went over to her.

Regina saw her coming and made a move to duck away, but Tink said, “Regina, wait.”

Regina steeled herself and turned around. “All right. You have every right to be mad at me.”

Tink was taken aback. “What? I’m not here to chew you out. I wanted to return something.”

She fished the handkerchief from her purse. By now it had been folded and re-folded innumerable times. “You helped me clean up Astrid’s spilled drink. I’m afraid the stain won’t come out.”

Regina took it and ran her fingers over the spot in the middle. It was a peace offering.

“That’s fine, I have more of them,” Regina said, tucking it carefully into her bag. “Thank you.”

“Regina,” Tink began. “I’m sorry for last time.”

Regina looked her square in the eye. “You should never apologize for something that wasn’t your fault, or was a natural reaction. And beware of people who make you.” Her tone was serious. “Mal taught me that.”

Tink smiled and nodded. “Maybe we can start over then.”

“I’d like that,” Regina agreed.

“Mal sounds like a smart person.”

“She’s a fighter. She made my mealworm of an ex squirm in court.”

Tink laughed at that image. “I’ll bet that was satisfying.”

“Oh, it sure was.”

“Can I get you a glass of champagne or something? On me tonight,” Tink offered. Regina nodded. Tink started to walk to the bar and then paused. “Regina? I know you’ll make an amazing lawyer someday.”

Regina looked surprised but touched. When she thanked her, Tink knew it was sincere. It was exactly what she needed.

~

They sat crowded close together on a couch, listening to the singer Ursula warbling her melodies for the crowd. She had a lovely voice. “Not much longer to go now, guys,” she announced after another cover. “Three minutes. Best say your last goodbyes to the year.”

“And good riddance,” Regina mumbled under her breath.

Tink cocked her head and smiled. “True that. You think the next one will be better?”

Regina felt Tink’s warmth on her side and decided she liked it. She felt very comfortable beside her. In fact, she could not be more comfortable. “It’s looking pretty good from here.”

“Well then, here’s to new beginnings.”

They toasted.

“So tell me,” Regina said, “How come the matchmaker doesn’t have a match?”

Tink shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess I haven’t thought about matching myself really.”

Regina laughed. “You’re like Jane Austen’s Emma.”

She laughed. “I haven’t read that since high school!”

Tink’s curly blonde hair was straightened and pulled back in loose, wispy bun and that pretty dress glimmered in the ambient light. “Oh, here it comes!” she said, putting down her champagne. The countdown had begun led by Ursula at the mic. Tink laced her fingers through Regina’s open hand and squeezed it.

Regina found her breath catching as the crowd’s chant gathered momentum. The last seconds of the year were rapidly slipping away. This was it.

“5…4…3…2…1…Happy New Year!”

In the heat of the moment, Regina wanted so badly to kiss Tink. She leaned over and brushed a hand tenderly across her jawline with one hand, cutting Tink off in the middle of “year.”

Tink’s voice went quiet. The clock struck midnight. It was the new year. Cheers rose and noisemakers buzzed, but it was all just background noise to Regina because she was looking into Tink’s eyes and wanting so badly for her to understand what she really felt because she’d just figured it out herself.

Regina’s fingertips finished their sweep at Tink’s chin and lingered there a moment before breaking contact. Tink was silent. For a moment Regina was scared she’d pull away.

“Oh!” Tink said, a chirrupy, surprised syllable. It was followed by a second. “Oh.” That one was deeper, quieter, and full of understanding. “It was me.” Not a question, an observation.

“Yes.”

“That was why…”

Regina nodded sheepishly.

Tink smiled, shy but radiant. She nodded, answering Regina’s unspoken question.

Regina leaned in to kiss her slowly. Their lips met and their noses bumped gently. Regina pulled back and chuckled once. She kissed her again, quicker and more certain this time. Tink tilted her head back and Regina followed her, leaning in deeper. Regina’s fingers twined around Tink’s and squeezed hard. Her tongue just touched Tink’s lip curiously, and then Tink’s lips parted so their tongues touched tip to tip. She tasted a hint of champagne on her tongue, but it was sweeter than any bottle. It was like there were flying embers sparkling inside Regina’s chest. Tink was sweet and beautiful and so small.

They parted their lips and rested their foreheads together. Regina’s hair made a partial curtain between them. Tink was beaming now, eyelashes fluttering quickly.

“Happy New Year, Regina.”

“Happy New Year, Tink. We should do dinner alone sometime. Maybe climb a belltower.”

Tink laughed. “I never do that on a first date. But we can work our way up to it.”


End file.
